Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti says a negative COVID-19 test is 'not a passport to party'

• A negative COVID-19 test result is "not a passport to party," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday.
• Los Angeles County reported just under 2,500 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, the seven-day average for positive test results jumping to 10.4%, a number not seen since mid-April.
• Over 2,000 people are currently hospitalized with symptoms of COVID-19, according to the county. Four weeks ago the number of daily hospitalizations was between 1,350 and 1,450.

A negative COVID-19 test result is "not a passport to party," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday, warning his city's residents against socializing with people outside their household.

"You should assume everyone around you is infectious," Garcetti said, the comments coming amid a surge in infection across the United States' most populous county. "Don't go out with your friends."

Los Angeles County reported just under 2,500 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, the seven-day average for positive test results jumping to 10.4%, a number not seen since mid-April. It also announced 65 more deaths, bringing the total to 3,642 since the pandemic began.

"We need our residents to repeat what we did just weeks ago if we are going to flatten the curve again," Barbara Ferrer, director of public health in Los Angeles County, said in a statement.

Over 2,000 people are currently hospitalized with symptoms of COVID-19, according to the county. Four weeks ago the number of daily hospitalizations was between 1,350 and 1,450.

"If we can't get the infection numbers back under control by the end of July," Ferrer said, "we will see thousands more people that require hospitalizations and that could easily overwhelm our health care system."

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